Railways to invest Rs 50 crore in startups annually, says Union min
New Delhi: Indian Railways will invest more than Rs 50 crore annually to fund startups, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Monday, adding that unlike other such collaborations, the intellectual property rights (IPR) for innovations will remain with the innovator.
Under the Indian Railway Innovation Policy, the railways will invest in startups to get a headstart in procuring innovations directly from them with a promise of up to Rs 1.5 crore of seed money for innovative technological solutions for the national transporter.
"The policy is not just limited to the idea. Indian Railways will follow it through to the product after proof of concept and scaling it up, doubling the grant support and finally adoption of successfully developed product/technology for regular use and even support for two to three years.
"The annual budget for the policy will be around Rs 40-50 crore and an additional fund for the divisional railway managers so that they can find on-field solutions to on-field problems. Also, the IPR will remain with innovator," the railway minister told the media while launching the policy formally. The funding scheme has been fixed on a cost-sharing basis in equal proportions - 50:50 - by the Indian Railways and an innovator.
"Great innovative solutions may churn and many technological challenges can be resolved if startups collaborate with Indian Railways. We have launched an innovation programme under Startup India today and undertook 11 common problems to resolve," Vaishnaw said.
He said that throughout the entire developmental journey, railways' field officers, RDSO, zonal and railway board officers will continuously support and hand-hold the innovators.
The Indian Railway Innovation Policy will identify and enable Indian innovators to engage with the railways for developing cost-effective, implementable, scalable solutions and functional prototypes for the national transporter, he said. Vaishnaw said that the selection through open, transparent and fair process which will entail innovators uploading their concepts with necessary proof on a dedicated portal, the Indian Railway Innovation Portal on web address www.innovation.indianrailways.gov.in.
In May, field units were asked to provide problem areas. In response to it, around 160 problem statements have been received till date.